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News May 2013

Weekend results now live

We are pleased to bring you a whole host of results from this bank holiday weekend's races on our results page.

This has been one huge weekend for racing and we are pleased to bring you a grand total of 83,198 performances that we've added to our data base since Friday!

The third race in the runbritain Grand Prix, the BUPA London 10,000 took place today and produced 10,128 results. The other big race of the weekend was the Great Manchester Run 10k where 27,796 runners crossed the finishing line!

Mo Farah won his fifth straight victory at the BUPA London 10,000 and bagged himself 450 points to put him 18th on the leaderboard after only one race in the series. He got 250 points for winning the race and an extra 200 bonus points for breaking 29:30 with his time of 29:13.

Farah set off, to a loud roar from the large crowd who had come to see the double Olympic champion running through his home city, alongside marathon runner Scott Overall with Phil Wicks tucked in behind. These three went through 2km in 5:49 before Farah decided the pace was too slow.

Simply lengthening his stride, Farah moved clear, opening an instant five-metre lead that grew to 20m by 3km (8:39). At 4km (11:39) he had a six-second gap on Wicks with Overall third, and after racing further away through Leadenhall Market he passed half way in 14:40 with a nine-second advantage.

From then on it was a procession, Farah enjoying every minute. He raced back towards Westminster along Victoria Embankment swapping hand-slaps and high fives with the mass runners jogging in the opposite direction along the other side of the carriageway. Many stopped to take photos and do the Mobot, Farah's signature victory gesture.

By 7km (20:30) he was some 25 seconds in front of Wicks with Phil Nicholls now third ahead of Overall. Farah slowed slightly through the eighth kilometre (8km: 23:29) but ran hard over the last stretch past the Houses of Parliament and sprinted down The Mall to win by nearly 400m.

"It was awesome out there today," he said afterwards. "The support was great and it's nice to give something back to the British people. It was great to win my fifth title."

Wicks was pleased with his race too, just a month after finishing 15th at this year's Virgin London Marathon, he collected 249 points for 2nd place.

"This was my first race since the London Marathon and I'm really pleased with my performance," he said. "After three weeks of training I just wanted to run a fast 10km to stretch my legs.

"Running in the heat was tough today. The buildings seem to keep the warmth in, although the crowds that turned out made up for the conditions. I love running in London as the support is always amazing."

Phil Nicholls was also delighted with his confidence-boosting third place and 248 points.

"I needed to have a good run today as I've been really disappointed after my last four or five races," he said. "I felt really good out there. My confidence has definitely returned. My goal was a top six finish so I'm delighted."

Luke Gunn came through for fourth place (247 points) and Scott Overall finished in fifth (246 points). This was the first race in the 2013 Grand Prix for all top five and so we have a change at the top of the leaderboard. Nicholas Torry has run all three races and so is sitting pretty at the top of the chart with 729 points. The top four places are currently taken up by runners who have done all three races in the series so far.

The women's race was won by Katrina Wootton who has moved herself to the top of the leaderboard with her two 10k races in the series. She finished 2nd at Bristol and was awarded an extra 200 points for breaking 32:30 and she collected an extra 100 points for breaking 33:00 in London today. Today she crossed the line in 32:37.

Like Farah, Wootton led from the 2km mark, and stretched away over the rest of the course to claim victory on her London 10,000 debut in 32:37, just 14 seconds outside the personal best she set four weeks ago. Steph Twell clocked 33:34 and so was awarded 249 points in second with Emily Pidgeon another 12 seconds adrift and claiming 248 points. They are positioned in 34th and 35th respectively after their first race in the 2013 Grand Prix.

Wootton commented "I haven't run in London since I did the London Mini Marathon as a school girl," she said. "I wanted to experience the London crowds and they really didn't disappoint today.

"It was amazing to be so far out in the lead, although I was worried about the quality field behind me. The Olympics created such a buzz for London so I wanted to come here and experience that. The Bupa London 10,000 is an amazing event."

"The atmosphere at today's race was amazing," agreed Twell, who was a minute outside her PB less than 24 hours after finishing third in yesterday's Bupa Westminster Mile.

"I could feel a bit of fatigue in my legs after running yesterday and I think I set off at mile pace today too," she said. "It's the first time I've done the race and I loved it. London is so scenic.

"My goal for the season is to get a qualifying time for the 5000m at the World Championships in Moscow in August and my performance today is a great step towards that."

Pidgeon also rode the wave of noise on her 10km debut. "I've never done a straight 10k so I wasn't sure what to expect but I had a great time," she said. "I love twisty courses and there were crowds cheering the whole way around. It was an awesome race out there. I'll definitely be back."

It was a sentiment shared by many of the other 10,000 finishers on another glorious late spring day in central London.